The Scoot Inn
Zeke Barbaro / Photos via Getty Images
Volume 44, Number 27
Issue Supplement
SXSW 2025 Festival Guide, Part I
ON THE COVER:
news
SXSW 2025 Festival Guide
AI Goes Mainstream at SXSW
Panels delve into the good and not-so-good of artificial intelligence
BY BENTON GRAHAM
As Trump Consolidates Power, SXSW Focuses on Fate of Democracy
Kings, courts, and creative dissent
BY AUSTIN SANDERS
Building Brains and Resilience at SXSW
Researchers illuminate the front lines of neuroscience today
BY ABE ASHER
AI at the Wheel, for the Masses
Self-driving cars are mostly Uber-like, but could automation enter public transit?
BY BENTON GRAHAM
Tracking, Vacuuming, and Sinking Carbon at SXSW
Time to save the planet
BY BRANT BINGAMON
War, Meet Climate Change
SXSW Arctic panel explains climate impact on national security
BY MAGGIE QUINLAN
Headlines / Quote of the Week
Asylum Seeker in Texas Faces Deportation After Complying as Witness
With no criminal history, Trump order requires his prosecution
BY MAGGIE QUINLAN
Medics at Hays County’s Private, Unionized EMS Service Fear for Agency’s Future
One government client has moved on, another appears ready to
BY AUSTIN SANDERS
Suspected El Paso Serial Killer Near Execution Insists He’s Innocent
Texas plans to kill “Desert Killer” David Wood despite new evidence
BY LUCCIANA CHOUEIRY
Solar Power Initiative Proceeds After Threat of Funding Freeze
$31 million for Austin solar is not lost, after all
BY MARYAM AHMED
The Thinkery Under Pressure to Improve Sanitation, Safety Measures
After employees protested, CEO says they’re making changes
BY MATTEA GALLAWAY
music
SXSW 2025 Festival Guide
35 Recommended SXSW Music Acts
From rock to new age to Irish traditional, these are the incoming artists to see
BY CARYS ANDERSON, RAOUL HERNANDEZ, DOUG FREEMAN, MICHAEL TOLAND, CATALINA PEREZ, ANGELINA LIU, CAROLINE DREW, KYRA BRUCE AND MIRANDA GARZA
Andrew McMahon Is Reuniting Jack’s Mannequin and Fighting Ticket Scalpers
Alt rocker looks back and ahead with Music and Conference appearances
BY CATALINA PEREZ
Aiko Packs a Pop-Fueled Punch
Czech artist brings Eurovision excellence across the pond
BY MIRANDA GARZA
Camaraderie, Collaboration, and Sonic Time Travel Stuffed the 2024-2025 Austin Music Awards
Stacked Antone’s jam piled on the sounds of the city
BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ
No Badge Necessary at These Live Music Recommendations
Crucial concerts for the week ahead
BY CARYS ANDERSON, DEREK UDENSI, MICHAEL TOLAND, RAOUL HERNANDEZ, DOUG FREEMAN, JAMES SCOTT, CAROLINE DREW, CATALINA PEREZ, TIM STEGALL AND LINA FISHER
Live Music in Austin
BY DEREK UDENSI
screens
SXSW 2025 Festival Guide
The Powerful Never Change in Death of a Unicorn
A24’s star-studded satirical horror comes to SXSW
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
SXSW Doc Tells the Story of Local Psych-Punk Legends Butthole Surfers
Never sacred, always profane
BY JOE GROSS
Inside the Unspeakable Killings That Changed Austin Forever
Margaret Brown explores the tragedy and lingering trauma in a four-part series
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
How the BTS ARMY Superpowered the Megapopular Boy Band
This fandom moves mountains
BY JENNY NULF
A Midwestern Slasher Is on the Loose in Clown in a Cornfield
Eli Craig adapts the hit YA novel about teens in a dying (literally) town
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Flying Lotus on Moving in Front of the Camera in Ash
The musician-turned-filmmaker on leveling up in his SXSW Headliner
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Terror Has Your Number in Drop
Director Christopher Landon on his latest nail-biter coming to SXSW
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
Film Reviews
In The Lost Lands
Action-fantasy based on a George R.R. Martin short story
Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho’s clone comedy is the resistance movie we need right now
Night of the Zoopocalypse
A meteor crash turns zoo animals turn into zombie mutants
Queen of the Ring
Drama based on wrestling pioneer Mildred Burke
Rule Breakers
Inspirational film about Afghanistan's first all-female robotics team
The Rule of Jenny Pen
John Lithgow terrorizes a retirement home
Seven Veils
Atom Egoyan drama about trauma and opera
arts & culture
SXSW 2025 Festival Guide
The Best of “Best of Austin”
Wondering what to do while you’re visiting Austin? Just ask our readers.
Go Off the Grid for Unofficial Queer Fun During SXSW
Austin offers tourists and locals alike queer parties outside the Festival mainframe
BY JAMES SCOTT
Brand Events and Immersive Experiences, No Badge Required
A black hole re-creation, the Criterion Mobile Closet, and Alien: Earth close encounters await
BY KIMBERLEY JONES
Visual Arts Review: Juan Cisneros’ “Tethered Ashes”
Physical and sound-based pieces offer a visceral sensory sensation in Co-Lab exhibit
BY CAT MCCARREY
“Un/Broken” Stitches Together Art and Trauma
Artist Yuliya Lanina presents her newest multimedia works at Ivester Contemporary
BY JAMES SCOTT
Hairy Situations, Pickle Parties, and More Weekend Events
Some non-SXSW arts and culture recommendations
BY JAMES SCOTT, KAT MCNEVINS, KIMBERLEY JONES, LINA FISHER, MATTEA GALLAWAY, CAT MCCARREY AND JAMES RENOVITCH
Advocacy, Art, and More Recommended Events
What to do this week that isn't SXSW
BY JAMES SCOTT, CAT MCCARREY, KIMBERLEY JONES, BRANT BINGAMON AND JAMES RENOVITCH
columns
The Austin Chronic: A Rundown of Cannabis Bills at the Texas Capitol
The legislative “sesh” has its papers
BY KEVIN CURTIN
Day Trips: Goliad State Park & Historic Site, Goliad
Spanish colonial mission site offers a historical outdoor experience
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
The Luv Doc: The Replacement
No one better than a Nazi to deliver the profound revelation that men are going to get shit wrong
BY THE LUV DOC
Qmmunity: For Queers By Queers Fest Recs and More
Mostly unofficial SXSW recos, local non-Fest fun, and Oscars complaints this week in Qmmunity
BY JAMES SCOTT
Opinion: Our Love of Guacamole is Killing Monarchs. But There’s Hope for Deforestation-Free Avocados.
Grocery stores and consumers must commit to ethically sourced avocados
BY STEPHANIE FELDSTEIN
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
Free Will Astrology
Your weekly horoscope, March 7-13
BY ROB BREZSNY
The Common Law
Stand up paddling vs. boating? Restrictions on Lady Bird Lake
BY LUKE ELLIS
Feedback
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
The Verde Report: Which Players Will Decide Austin FC’s Fate in 2025?
A closer look at some of the club’s wild cards
BY ERIC GOODMAN
comics
